PORTLAND – A Portland television station is pulling the plug on its news operation.

WPXT, an affiliate of the WB Network, will discontinue its 10 p.m. “Our Maine News” program following its Friday newscast. The news program has been on the air for about a decade.

“We had heard a lot of rumors that this might happen,” said Joe Palmieri, the co-anchor. “Professionally, I’m very proud of this newscast and how far it’s come.”

Station manager Ann Gagne did not return phone calls for comment.

The decision, however, was not a complete surprise, given that local news production is a costly enterprise – particularly when a station produces only one newscast a day.

WPXT was competing for news viewers against Portland stations that have as many as six newscasts a day.

“It’s all about economic viability, and when WPXT is putting on a half-hour [of news] a day and we’ve got 33 hours a week, it’s much more expensive per hour for them,” said Steve Thaxton, president of WCSH 6, Portland’s top-rated news station.

WPXT may also have been hurt by switching its affiliation last October from the well-known Fox Network to the lesser-known WB Network.

For nine years WPXT’s news had been known to Maine viewers as “Fox 51 News,” but in October it became known as “Our Maine News At Ten.”